Barrel weight and mount assembly for firearms



Jan. 19, 1960 L. L. LARSON 2,921,396

BARREL WEIGHT AND MOUNT ASSEMBLY FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 6, 1959 h mammilililsuim INVENTOR LAWRENCE 4. LARSON fizbufizzi 6114 ATTOK/VE vs.

BL WEIGHT AND MOUNT ASSELY FOR FARMS Lawrence L. Larson, Bethany, (Donn, assignor to The High Standard Manufacturing Corporation, Hamden, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut Application February 6, 1959, Serial N 791,581

3 Claims. (Cl. 42-1) This invention relates to barrel weights for firearms, and it relates more particularly to means for mounting weights at various points along the barrel of the gun in order to obtain the desired balance for target shooting purposes.

t is common practice to secure weights to the barrel of a firearm, particularly target shooting pistols, for the purpose of steadying the gun when it is aimed at the target. The present invention provides a novel manner of mounting weights on the barrel, one of the objects being to securely fasten the Weight to the-barrel so that it is rigid therewith and will not jar loose while the gun is in use. Another object of the invention is to provide a barrel weight and a mount therefor, which can be quickly and easily removed or adjusted from one position to another along the length of the barrel. A further object is to provide such a device which is inexpensive to manufacture, but which is sturdy in construction and gives the appearance of being an integral part of the gun.

With the above objects in view, as well as others which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description hereinafter, the invention comprises provision of mutually inclined mounting surfaces on both the barrel and the weights, together with a pair of side brackets having similarly inclined flanges engaging said mounting surfaces so as to suspend the weight below the barrel. A locking screw is provided centrally of the weight and extends through it into engagement with the barrel, so that when said locking screw is turned up against the barrel, the weight is pressed bodily against the mounting flanges of the side brackets, thereby rigidly securing it, the brackets and the barrel together as an integral unit.

The flanges of the brackets are desirably slightly resilient so that they will spring a little when the locking screw is brought up tight against the barrel, thereby locking the screw against rotation and preventing loosening thereof, even under the most severe vibration caused by repeated firing of the gun.

A specific embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of a semi-automatic target pistol showing a barrel wei ht according to the present invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-section through the barrel and weight, taken on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 and loo-king in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the portion of the barrel on which the Weight is mounted, taken along the line 33 in Fig. 2.

The pistol 19 shown for illustrative purposes only is designed primarily for target shooting, having a long barrel 12 with front and rear sights l4 and 16, respectively, mounted thereon. On both sides of barrel 12 are formed grooves 18 extending axially of the barrel throughout a major portion of the length thereof. Grooves 18 are inclined downwardly as shown in Fig. 2,

2,921,396 Patented Jan. 19, 1960 so as to receive the upper inturned flanges 20 of a pair of mounting brackets 22, which hang downwardly therefrom and support a weight 24 disposed below barrel 12 between the body-portions 25 of brackets 22. Weight 24, which may be a solid block of metal, is held by means of inturned lower flanges 26 on brackets 22, which engage the under-surface 28 of the body of weight 24. The marginal portions 30 of the under-surface 28 of weight 24 along the lateral edges thereof are inclined at an acute angle to the sides 32 of weight 24, and flanges 26 of brackets 22 are correspondingly inclined with respect to their respective body-portions 25, so as to fit in close contact with weight 24. Similarly, the upper inturned flange 20 of each bracket 22 extends into its groove 18 in barrel 12 substantially parallel to the direction in which groove 18 is cut, so that the bracket 22 tends to slide inwardly of the groove. A central cylindrically shaped bulge 34 running longitudinally of the under-surface 28 of weight 24 is formed in order to increase the amount of weight and at the same time enhance the appearance of the unit.

The upper surface 36 of weight 24 is concavely formed so as to clear the underside of barrel 12, which in this instance is tapered. In the position shown in the drawings, surface 36 is spaced somewhat below the lowest portion of barrel 12. However, when the weight is mounted on the larger diameter part of the barrel toward the rear, there will be less clearance between the weight and the barrel, or, if desired, the parts may be so dimensioned that the surface 36 contacts the barrel. However, it is preferred to provide enough clearance so that when assembling the weight on the gun, the flanges 26 of brackets 22 can be moved laterally into position with portions 30 on the weight by lifting the weight upwardly under barrel 12. As may be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, a locking screw 38 is threadedly received in a vertical passage 40 in weight 24, passage 40 and screw 38 being located approximately centrally of the upper surface 36 of weight 24 and perpendicular thereto. In this instance, locking screw 36 is of the headless type and is provided with a slot 42 for a screw driver, or with a hex-socket for a setscrew wrench, so that it can be turned by means of a suitable tool while totally within weight 24. The upper rounded end 44 of screw 38 extends into engagement with the underside of barrel 12, which is provided with a plurality of recesses 46 spaced longitudinaly of the barrel for reception of the end of locking screw 38.

By turning screw 38 up against the barrel with a tool, weight 24 is urged bodily away from the barrel into intimate engagement with the lower flanges 26 of brackets 22, thereby rigidly and integrally locking the weight and mounting brackets to each other and to the barrel. It will be noted that brackets 22, which are initially flush with the side surfaces 32 of weight 24 are drawn into even closer contact therewith when pressure is app'ied against the barrel 12 by means of locking screw 38, due to the fact that the mutually inclined surfaces of flanges 20 and 26 engage correspondingly inclined surfaces in the grooves 18 and marginal portions 30. Consequently, the pressure exerted downward by weight 24 tends to draw brackets 22 inwardly against it, making the unit absolutely rigid. In addition, brackets 22 being made of steel have a certain amount of resiliency, which locks screw 38 in position when it is set up tight against the barrel. Consequently, it will not be jarred loose when the gun is fired.

Whi'e it is virtually impossible to move the barrel weight unit longitudinally of the barrel when the locking screw 38 is tight, because of frictional engagement of flanges 20 in grooves 18, engagement of locking screw 38 in recesses 46 positively prevents such movement.

Recesses 46, are also an aid in locating the desired position for the weight longitudinally of the barrel. If it is desired to change the position of the weight on the barrel in order to change the balance of the gun, it is only necessary to loosen locking screw 38 with the proper tool until its end 44 is retracted from the recess 46, thereby permitting the weight 24 and its mounting brackets 22 to be moved together, either forwardly or back. Screw 38 is then brought into engagement with another of the recesses 46 and tightened. If it is found by firing the gun with the weight tightened in place at positions where screw 38 is not lined up with one of the recesses 46, which can be done without causing any difficulty, that a particularly desirable balance is achieved, a recess can be easily provided at the desired point on the barrel in order to permanently locate that position.

The longitudinal rearward rake to the brackets 22 and weight 24 is for appearance purposes, the front and rear surfaces being complementary to each other, so that, where greater weight is desired, two or more units can be mounted longitudinally of the barrel fitting into each other.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a firearm having a pair of longitudinally extending grooves disposed with one on each side of the barrel of the firearm, a barrel weight and mount for removably securing said weight to said barrel on its underside at selected positions along the length thereof, said weight comprising a rigid block having an under-surface, an upper-surface, and opposite side surfaces, with the lateral marginal portions of said undersurface each forming an acute angle with the adjacent side surface, said mount comprising a pair of bracket members, each having a body portion disposed in surfaceto-surface contact with a side surface of said weight, each of said bracket members being provided with inturned flanges along its upper and lower edges, said inturned flanges each forming acute anges with respect to said body portion, the upper one of said flanges being receivable in one of said barrel grooves and the lower one of said flanges engaging the adjacent marginal portion on the said underside of said weight, and a single locking screw threadedly mounted in said weight and extending generally vertically therethrough substantially centrally of said upper surface into thrusting engagement with the underside of said barrel, whereby upon turning said screw into engagement with said barrel, said weight is pressed downwardly against the lower flanges of said bracket members, rigidly locking said weight and bracket members to said barrel as an integral unit.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal grooves in said barrel are formed so as to provide surfaces disposed substantially parallel to the upper inturned flanges of said bracket members, and wherein said bracket members are slightly flexible so that they will spring a little when said locking screw is turned up tight against said barrel and thereby preventing said locking screw from accidentally loosening.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein said barrel is provided with longitudinally spaced recesses in its underside for reception of the end of said locking screw at various positions along the length of said barrel.

No references cited. 

